ISAF World Cup Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia Mapfre Palma Day 1

Sunshine and light breeze provided for gentle but technical sailing for all classes engaged in the 43 Trofeo Princesa Sofa Mapfre, third event in the ISAF Sailing World Cup.

The Australians had a great start in the 470 Men with World #1 Mat Belcher and Malcolm Page, and Sam Kivell with Will Ryan; both teams winning their group first race. However, it is the French pair of Pierre Leboucher and Vincent Garos, second last year in Palma who take the lead with a fifth place and a victory. 'We had a bad start in the first racebut came back to the front; the second was better and it is a very good day in the championship. For us this event is important to test the material.Of course we would like to win here but first of all we need to sail well.'

The French, selected for the Olympic Games are just a point ahead of World Champions Mat Belcher and Malcolm Page (AUS): 'We had light winds today so considering the conditions we are happy and lucky with our results. It is our first event in Europe so it is good to gauge ourselves with the others, but we need to focus on our sailing.'

After a third place in the Rolex Miami OCR earlier this year, the young British team of Sophie Weguelin and Sophie Ainsworth is leading the talented women 470 fleet with a third and a second place. 'This is by far our best day in any international 470 event! We had a great training this year with Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark, we learned a lot from them.This is a great start to our regatta but there are still many races to go!'

The light conditions penalised some favourites with World Champions Tara Pacheco and Berta Betanzos placing 27th and Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout (NED) in 28th. Today also see the start of the battle between the teams still in Olympic selection. French team of Emmanuelle Rol and Hélène Defrance (FRA) had a great day in second place overall. Brazilians Fernanda de Oliveira and Ana Luiza Barbachan and Polish team of Skrzypulec/Ogar in third and fourth places are also taking some valuable mileage to London!

The light conditions in the first race in the Laser has provided good opportunities for class outsiders to take a good start in the event. Andrew Lewis from Trinidad and Tobago won the first race. David Alfonso from Puerto Rico placed second and Dennis van den Berg (AHO) third, in their respective groups. At the end of the day, consistent results placed Jonasz Stelmaszyk (POL) in top place followed by British Nick Thompson and Paul Goodison (GBR).

In the Radial, Krystal Weir (AUS) is leading after winning the first race and placing fourth in the second. Results for the top five are tight. The Australian is only a point ahead of Alicia Cebrian (ESP),best Spanish sailor on the water today. Third place goes to Cecilia Sarol from Argentina on equal points with Finnish Tuula Tenkanen.

Two Danish teams are leading the 49ers, with Peter Kruger Andersen and Nicola Thorsell one point ahead of team mates Jonas Warrer and Soren Hansen. They both won the last race in their group.

Sailing from the Club Real de Palma, the Stars with all favourites on the starting line had a high level of competition. Xavier Rohart and Pierre-Alexis Ponsot (FRA) took the first race and placed seventh in the last to take the lead on equal points with Hamish Pepper and Jim Turner (NZL). Mateusz Kuznierewicz and Dominik Zycki (POL) took the last race to place third overall.

In the Finns another Dane in the lead is Jonas Hoegh-Christensen. A win in the first race and a fifth, place him on equal points with Swede Daniel Birgmark.

'I had a good start on winward and rounded the top mark in second place behind Daniel Birgmark. In the first run, all the guys in front gybed and got in a hole with less pressure, I stayed on their right and increased my lead. On the second race I had an average start but gained lots of places on the run.' British are taking third and fourth places with Andrew Mills in third and last year winner Ben Ainslie in fourth.

The 2.4 Paralympic event, sailing out of Calanova, sailed two races. British Helena Lucas showed good form with a win and a second place to take an early lead. 'It’s been a good start but there are still eight races to go so it will be a case of just taking each race at a time and keeping things simple. If in doubt – go fast!'